More importantly, I use it to go beyond my day-to-day appointments.  Each month I challenge myself to undertake three out-of-the-ordinary explorations – checking out a new group/event, exploring a new location/business, or learning something new.  These are what I call my “out of rut” moments where I push my own limits – especially when I try something new where I may fail or succeed, love it or hate it.

In September, one of my limit-pushing events was to learn to ride a motorcycle and get my license endorsement – first learning how to ride; then, passing a skills test and a written test.  Why?  I wanted to know, first-hand, the mystique that surrounds motorcycles since I have a son on the path to becoming a motorcycle mechanic.  Long story short – I learned way more than the mechanics and rules of riding.  I learned about the intuitive connection between a rider and her bike, the openness and freedom of 2-tires and no passenger compartment, and the unique personalities that each motorcycle has.  It was no ordinary month!

Thanks to gullevek (Flickr) for the motorcycle photo

At one of the local parks, Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve in Cary, NC, the trails had numbered signs that correlated to secret-decoder trail guides to learn more about plants and animals in the area.  When I first started walking there I used each numbered sign to kick off a gratitude as I walked the short Swift Creek Loop Trail for the 3rd lap (I used the 1^st lap around for release and the 2^nd lap around for silence) of my meditation walk.  With 14 signs along that trail, I embraced 14 different gratitudes to finish out my walk.

Then, earlier this year, these signs magically morphed from numbers (and the need for trail guides) to titles, pictures and descriptions as part of the signs themselves.  Sure, sure – one could easily keep with the same practice as before, but on closer look a new magic had been added.  Although the signs were still about the nearby plants and animals, they could just as easily be about oneself and one’s journey through life – sometimes with a “direct hit” and other times in a more metaphysically-speaking way.  Here’s a sampling of the sign titles (I kid you not!):

• “A Fresh Start”
• “A Different Landscape”
• “A Race to the Top”
• “Remnants of the Past”
• “It All Flows Together”
• “Life Abundant”
• “Home, Safe Home”
• “Tale of Two Habitats”
• “Room for Me”

So, what started out as a simple, sign-based gratitude practice has now morphed into a more thoughtful, sign-based guided meditation – what do these mean in terms of my life?  I am both amazed and delighted by this shift.

1. Treadmill as metaphor for life – two weeks ago
2. Giving up control; shifting mental focus when the going gets tough (or easy) – last week
3. Using machine lights and timers for affirmative prayer and here-now presence – this week

USING MACHINE LIGHTS AND TIMERS FOR AFFIRMATIVE PRAYER & HERE-NOW PRESENCE

Before you hit the start button it’s time to layout your spiritual workout …

DURATION.  The length of your workout depends on your fitness level and the time that you have available.  Over the years, I found that 30-minutes was optimal for me.  If needed, I would could shorten it to 20-minutes and still have a meaningful body-mind-spirit experience.  For workouts that were shorter than 20-minutes, I found that my mind and spirit didn’t have enough recharge time; and, for workouts longer than 30-minutes, I found that I was more focused on a body experience (exercise!) than a spiritual workout.  You’ll have to find your own sweet-spot, your own duration middle-way.

Warm-up – consider using the first 5-minutes of your workout as a warm-up by focusing on your breath; or, releasing the “woes of the day” on your out-breath before starting your workout.

Cool-down – at the end of your time, your treadmill will shift into a step-down pattern (reducing speed with each passing minute).  Use this time to shift both your muscles and your mind back into the day-to-day world.

LEVELS (affirmative prayer).  The treadmills* that I used had 7 levels of lights that displayed one’s course  – with 7 being the most difficult (think “climbing a mountain”) and with 1 being the easiest (think “a walk on the beach”) with levels 2 to 6 being somewhere in-between.  I mapped my practice to these seven levels:

[A word about “whisper speaking” while working out.  I have found that speaking affirmations (or other words) aloud makes them more powerful than merely thinking them – but the choice is yours.  In the midst of health club noise, and with the advent of cell phone headsets, I doubt that anyone will even blink twice.]

• 7 (hardest) – walking, holding onto the handles, merely breathing
• 6 – walking, holding onto the handles, merely breathing
• 5 – walking, swinging arms, merely breathing
• 4 – running, filling with a spiritual quality that you need most(whisper speaking this quality aloud)
  • Some of my more frequent qualities were love, faith and peace
  • I would speak my “quality of choice aloud” as many times as would fit between my 1-counts
  • EX: “1” – peace – peace – peace – peace – peace (if level 4 repeats for the next time period , you’d repeat this sequence, else shift to the sequence for the other level)
• 3 – running, asking for what type of “help” that you’d like(whisper speaking this request aloud)
  • Some of my more frequent requests were “show me,” “hear me,” and “guide me”
  • I would speak my “request of choice aloud” as many times as would fit between my 1-counts.  I directed these to my power of choice (i.e., Infinite Spirit), but be sure to use your power of choice.
  • EX: “1” – Infinite Spirit guide me – Infinite Spirit guide me – Infinite Spirit guide me (if level 3 repeats for the next time period , you’d repeat this sequence, else shift to the sequence for the other level)
• 2 – running, a short connecting prayer(whisper speaking this aloud)
  • One of my favorite verses is: “Spirit as peace, help me to see.  Spirit as love, help me to be.”
  • I speak this verse aloud twice between my 1-counts
  • EX: “1” – Spirit as peace, help me to see; Spirit as love, help me to be - Spirit as peace, help me to see; Spirit as love, help me to be (if level 2 repeats for the next time period , you’d repeat this sequence, else shift to the sequence for the other level)
• 1 (easiest) – running, a slightly longer prayer, but  not too long (whisper speaking this aloud)
  • Because this is the easiest level, you can be more creative with a verse, an affirmation, a poem, whatever … but it will need to fit between the “1”s on the clock (10 seconds).  Be creative!  One of my favorite affirmations is: “I listen deeply to all; I am boldly authentic.”
  • Whatever you can fit into the 10-second cycle is fine – whether you state it once, twice or several times between your “1” brackets on both ends (if level 1 repeats for the next time period , you’d repeat this sequence, else shift to the sequence for the other level).

CLOCK (here-now presence).  Every treadmill has an electronic clock that tracks your workout time.  I’ve seen many people cover it up with a towel (“I don’t want to know how much longer this misery will go on!”), but for this practice, you’ll focus in on the time – every ten seconds when “one (:01)” rolls around, you will include that as part of your workout – whisper speaking “one” (think unity, wholeness) as part of your routine.  The levels on the machine change (or remain the same) every 10 seconds with each level starting with one (1) so this will always be your starting point.

Take time to layout what you want to include at levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 before you step onto the treadmill.  Your workout is spiritual practice based on your current thoughts, feelings and sensations – you want to focus on your here-now personal energy to transition it to a more energetic level.  Give yourself time to find the rhythm and repeat of a new routine – new habits take several weeks to start feeling normal.  And, pay attention to how your breaths and steps fall into a connected rhythm.

* – LifeFitness treadmills were used, but these practices can be adapted for other brands/styles

Thanks to the following people (Flickr) for photos: “stacya” – people treadmilling in a gym, “dr. coop” for the LifeFitness treadmill panel, Keith Davenport “sirwiseowl” for the woman on a treadmill, and George Hatcher “toastforbrekkie” for the digital clock.

1. Treadmill as metaphor for life – last week
2. Giving up control; shifting mental focus when the going gets tough (or easy) – this week
3. Using machine lights and timers for affirmative prayer and here-now presence – next week

GIVING UP CONTROL; SHIFTING MENTAL FOCUS

So, here you are at the beginning of your spiritual treadmill workout …

RANDOM.  It all starts with selecting a workout where you have no control; where you cannot predict or influence what comes next which is, oh, so much like real life.  You choose “random” – hit the button and know that you are no longer in charge of when and where your course is hard (all 7 vertical lights* lit up) or when and where your course is easy (only 1 vertical light* lit up) across time, but you can choose what you do on any given level when it kicks in.  And, you can see what’s coming in the very near future (usually the next 1-1/2 minutes) – so it’s living in the now, with a bit of advance warning.  You’ll see in the next lesson how the seven different rows of lights map to different spiritual practices and determine whether you walk or run (what I liken to leaning into a machine and walking when the going is tough; or, going it alone on a run when the going is easy).  “Lean on me when you’re not strong …”

You’ll also need to pick a starting speed and duration, which should match to your fitness level (I used 4 MPH for walking and 6 MPH for running since the machines I used had quick select buttons on the handrail for these two speeds); and, a difficulty level of 7).  Start low and grow over time.

FOCUS.  As you walk or run, you’ll either be focusing on a spiritual practice when the going is easy (typically levels 1, 2, 3 and  4*) or merely being present when the going is tough (typically levels 5, 6 and 7*).  Isn’t this just like life?  When things are easy, we find the time to fit in our daily spiritual practices; and, when the going gets tough, just remembering to breathe is enough!  And, being aware of time – its repeatability, its rhythm, its 1-ness (oneness) – creates a repeat cycle for the percussion of your feet (think drumming circle) intermixed with your words.

In the next lesson I’ll tell you how I fit my spiritual practices to the levels; and, the levels to walking/running.  And, how to focus in on the clock to stay grounded and focused.  My hope that is by sharing how I created a spirituality-based treadmill practice that you’ll be inspired to create your own unique practice.  Perhaps this practice could be called spir-treading (or should it be tread-spiring?).

* – LifeFitness treadmills were used, but these practices can be adapted for other brands/styles

Thanks to Peter Burgess “burge5K” (flickr) for the happiness treadmill photo; and, thanks to Christine Urias “Shopping Diva” (flickr) for the treadmill lights(level 3) photo